A Study Of The Sacrificed Kings As Seen In The Divination Of The Yin Ruins

Rituals were an important part of the Shang dynasty’s daily activities,and the ancestors were the main targets of rituals.This article focuses on the subject of the ancestor kings and discusses the ways in which they were sacrificed,the offerings,the reasons for them,and the joint sacrifices.This paper is divided into six main sections as follows.The first chapter is an introduction.This chapter identifies the subject matter and the research materials,and summarises the research on the rituals of the ancestral kings by the experts and scholars,explaining the research ideas,methodology and significance,and finally defining the terms related to the rituals.The second chapter collates and examines the rituals of the九示kings in the direct line of ancestors,namely大乙,大丁,大甲,大庚,大戊,中丁,祖乙,祖辛,祖丁,and divides the ritual divinations of each of the kings into two main categories:single ritual divinations and joint rituals.The single-offering divinatory tales collate and analyse the manner,offerings,reasons,time and place of sacrifice,while the combined-offering divinatory tales collate the combined-offerings of the kings and produce a table of the combined-offerings of the kings.The third chapter collates and examines the rituals of the非九示kings in the direct lineage,including小乙,武丁,祖甲,康丁,武乙,文丁.The divination rites of the six kings are divided into two main categories:single ritual and combined ritual.single ritual divinations collate the manner,offerings,reasons,time and place of worship of the ancestors,while the combined-offering divinatory collate the combined-offering of the ancestors and form tables of the combined-offering of the six ancestors.The fourth chapter collates and examines the rituals of the ancestors of the ancestral kings,including卜丙,小甲,雍己,卜壬,戋甲,羌甲,南庚,阳甲,般庚,小辛,孝己,祖庚,廪辛.This chapter classifies the ritual divinations of the thirteen ancestors according to two main categories:the single ritual divination divination divination compiles the manner,offerings and venues used in the rituals of the ancestors,while the combined ritual divination divination compiles the combined rituals of the ancestors,and produces a table of the combined rituals of the thirteen ancestors.The above three chapters all focus on the methods,offerings and reasons for the rituals of the ancestors,and provide an analysis and overview of their ritual characteristics.The sixth chapter examines the specific references to父丁in the历组divination,三祖in the divination,and祖甲,祖乙,祖辛,祖庚in the花东divination.The sixth chapter is the concluding remarks.This chapter concludes the text.